Jolie Blon's Bounce

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Mark Hammer

Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

When a beautiful teenage girl is killed, the victim of a particularly savage rape, New Iberia, Louisiana police detective Dave Robicheaux senses from the very start of the investigation that the most likely suspect - Tee Bobby Hulin - is not the actual killer. Though a drug addict and general ne'er-do-well, Hulin doesn't fit the profile for this brutal crime. But when another body turns up - a drugged-out prostitute who is the daughter of a local mafia bigwig - all clues point to Tee Bobby Hulin. The dead girl's father sets out to find - and punish - the killer.

Before Robicheaux can bring the killer or killers to justice, he battles a painkiller addiction, a habit brought on by a humiliating beating he suffers at the hands of a diabolical character known only as Legion. Once the overseer on a local sugarcane plantation, Legion scrapes by through doing odd jobs. In temperament, he's still the malevolent bully, seemingly possessed with supernatural skills of survival.

When Robicheaux's longtime buddy Clete Purcel drops by New Iberia for a visit, he is quickly drawn into the struggle between evil forces - including Jimmy Dean Styles, a black man intent on maintaining his empire of corruption; Joe Zeroski, a trailer park mafioso with palatial aspirations; and Legion Guidry, in whom Robicheaux faces an enemy unlike any he has ever known. And soon, what began as a duel of wits turns into a dance of death.

Gothic, dense, brutal, touching, and always compelling, Jolie Blon's Bounce is classic storytelling from a writer who has been dubbed "the Faulkner of crime fiction."

©2002 James Lee Burke, All Rights Reserved (P)2002 Recorded Books Inc., All Rights Reserved, AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic Reviews

Audie Award Winner, Mystery, Fiction, 2003

"To read a Burke novel is to enter a timeless, parallel universe of violent emotions and lush, brooding landscapes." (Publishers Weekly) 

"Listening to Mark Hammer reading Burke's twelfth novel about Cajun cop Dave Robicheaux, it's easy to imagine you're on the shore of Bayou Teche, hearing a weathered cop tell of past adventures.... With a deliberate pace, Hammer pulls us in, capturing Robicheaux's spiritual exhaustion yet compelling us to hang on his every word." (AudioFile)

"Dave Robicheaux...[is] easily one of the most complex and compelling protagonists in mystery fiction. This is classic James Lee Burke, the master stylist, writing at the top of his game." (Amazon.com)

Sorry I was wrong

I am sorry to say I did not give this reader much of a chance when I wrote my first review of this book. It was very different that the other James Lee Burke books I have read and did not seem to work for me. I recently tried it again and I now realize that once Mark Hammer got his characters developed his reading was not half bad. Not a good as Will Patton but not as bad as I first thought. As usual the story was great. James Lee Burke is one of the best writers of our age. My apologies to Mr Hammer.
JD

I Loved it, me.

I have read other customer reviews in this section and couldn't disagree more with those who criticize Mark Hammer's reading of this wonderful book. JLB says this is his favourite in the Robicheaux series and having heard this book twice (the second time was on a long car trip with my wife) I think Mark Hammer did a fabulous job. The pacing is wonderful, the characters are clearly and consistently presented and the atmosphere is seductivelty and dramatically evoked. My wife and I agree... 5 stars for the book and the reading.

Further, I just re-read Neon Rain and loved revisting this fine book. I would love to hear Mark Hammer read this or any other of the DR series. JLB's new Robicheaux book, the soon to be released Last Car to Elysian Fields is eagerly aniticipated in our house as I'm sure it is in other Audible listener's homes. Here's hoping Mark Hammer is hired to read it as well.

Get it. You'll love it!

Oh, for a good narrator!

I read all the available reviews before ordering and, because the author is a long-time favorite of mine, ordered it despite strongly conflicting opinions of the quality of the narration. Be warned by this lover of audio books that this otherwise fine Burke book is all but ruined by the narration of Mark Hammer. Hammer's voice qualities are those a very elderly man and one with almost no dramatic color. Even if you are a fan of Burke's poetic and lively writing this is likely to disappoint. The story's still-youngish hero is almost impossible to picture when all his observations are droned in the crackly voice of a man who sounds twenty or thirty years his senior!
What is wrong with Simon & Schuster audio folks? What possessed James Lee Burke to let this happen to his creation? Why did I not heed those who warned me in their review??

Stunning story

Once again James Lee Burke offers up a brilliant character study. This novel is also a great mystery. Mark Hammer's narration is captivating and will propel you into the swamps of Lousiana. Listen to Jolie Blon's Bounce only when you have time to finish without pause. It's that good.

A good book, but the narration brought it down.

With a different narrator I feel this could have been a great book. But the monotone delivery on this book drags it down and makes it a tough listen.

High expectations

I've never listened to or read Burke book before. And I don't think I ever will again. It was one of those rare books where my mind just kept wandering and I had to keep reminding myself of what the story was supposed to be about. And it was just a very uninteresting story line.

To make matters worse, the narrator was terrible. He sounded drunk all the time.

It's a shame

Do yourself a favor and find the abridged version read by Will Patton. It is a shame that such a good story is wasted by this reader. Will Patton is the only one who can do Robo.

Good book, good narrator.

The sad, world-weary voice of the narrator enhances the written work. I'd heard about James Lee Burke's books, but the few times I tried to read one I soon lost interest. Now, with Mark Hammer's narration, the book comes to life, the spirit behind the words has substance. I've since listened to Sunset Limited and am now trying to decide which Burke book to download next from Audible.com.

The perfect narration of a near perfect novel

Mark Hammer's masterful narration of this book (and the other Robicheaux books) reveals the complexity and drama of a man whose depth of character, grief, personal struggle, and sociological conflicts are entwined with the rich, raw, and sensual Cajun culture. His subtle inflections and careful pacing exudes with authenticity, sorrow, and life-fatigue that distinguishes Dave Robicheaux's search for justice and meaning, in a world that challenges both. He faces pure evil in the person of the indomitable, elderly Legion Guidry, the portrayal of whom made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up, with each encounter. William Patton who narrates Purple Cane Road, by the same author, is excellent in his narrative vibrancy, flexibility, and skill but tells very different story of Dave Robicheaux through his voice than that of Mark Hammer. I loved all of the Robicheax stories, but this is the best of all.

Vigorously disagree with prior reviewer

Boy I relished the times when I could sneak away from my activities of daily living to listen to this book. The ambling sequencing of visual vignettes and the narrator's pace created a southern atmosphere which rang true and intentional. I was disappointed to learn that there is a different narrator on Burke's other books...though I say that not having heard the other narrator. Just thought he was quite adept at creating believeable vocal characterizations.